Usually, ball pens include a housing, a writing means that is spring-loaded therein, e.g. a ball pen refill or a high-capacity refill, and an adjustment mechanism. At an operating side ball pens comprise an operating unit, wherein the ball pen may either operated by a push button arranged at the operating unit or through rotating the operating unit itself. In the case of a rotating operating unit it usually locks in a first or a second operating position after manipulating it, depending on the direction of rotation. In doing so, in the first operating position the ball pen refill is in a pushed-forward writing position, such that the tip of the writing means reaches out of the housing. In a second operating position the writing means is retracted into the housing in a storing position, in which the writing means is fully received by the housing. Ball pens of this type are elaborately described in the prior art.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,314 describes a ball pen having a retractable ball pen refill, which can be manipulated through an operating button. When the operating button is pressed down, an adjustment mechanism locks, such that the tip of a writing means projects out of the housing. A repeated pressing down releases the locking of the adjustment mechanism and the writing means is pushed back into a retracted storing position through a spring.
Patent publication DE 103 32 844 describes a manual writing implement, which comprises both a writing refill as well as an input pen. Through rotation of a rear housing element a displacement mechanism is operated, which pushes a writing refill forward in an axial direction, while at the same time an input pen is moved into a retracted storing position. Through rotation of the rear housing element into an opposite direction the input pen is pushed forward in the axial direction, while at the same time the writing refill is moved into a retracted storing position. For this, a cam pin for moving the writing refill and a further cam pin for moving the input pen are mechanically connected to a cam bushing having slot-shaped guiding cams. The slot-shaped guiding cams of the cam bushing are arranged one upon the other and thereby run in a helical shape in opposite directions to each other. Between a first and a second operating position both the input pen and the writing refill are in a storing position retracted in the housing.
At the writing instruments disclosed in the prior art the operating unit at a rear end of the housing in each case remains in the operating position to which it was switched. This may be disadvantageous, in particular with precious writing implements with prints on the housing, high-grade ornaments or elaborate engravings, since through locking the housing halves that are rotated relative to each other in an operating position, the patterns on the writing implement are not coherent any more, which may change the general appearance of the writing implement in an adverse manner. In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.